


Part 1: Points of Authority

by TehKirby



Series: Over and Over [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Past Abuse, Psychological Drama, Slow Build, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-10-10 01:38:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10426332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TehKirby/pseuds/TehKirby
Summary: Seto Kaiba is certain that the sponsoree Pegasus has stuck him with for the Battle City Tournament is just another obstacle that will delay his plans for completing a Kaibaland in America and starting the Duel Camp Project for at-risk youths with that clown of a CEO.What he wasn't prepared for was how much she would add to his life.





	1. Chivalry is Dead to Corporate Bylaws

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, apologies for the hiatus, but a few things happened - medical stuff, work stupidity, general life pick up with the previous two things. All of that left sparse time to do things I enjoy - writing fanfiction and creating a good time for fans!
> 
> After discussions with my fellow writerbuddy, I've decided to make this story in 3rd person for ease of storytelling. I have so much planned for this saga that the 2nd POV was becoming limiting to write in (especially at the end of this book). Even though it's now in 3rd person, I still vicariously see it as a 2nd POV-inspired story. I still want to write in that POV for other stories I have planned/am planning. Also, it will become quite evident at the end of this book who Kenzie Ray is, but I still consider it and other changes in following books to be "canon divergent" even though I always aim to stay true to the original author intent style.

>>>Book1Begin<<<

 

>>>chapterBegin<<<

 

Something cold and hard hit Kenzie’s backside, causing her to wobble dangerously and dropping her shouldered blue duffle bag.

 

“Hey!” she yelled instinctively, steadying herself and jerking her shoulder-length white hair out of her eyes. “Watch it!”

 

Letting go of her purple rolling suitcase, heated anger left Kenzie’s body once she came eye-to-eye with the offender rising out of the limo. Recognition punched her stomach.

 

Tall. Blue-eyes. Short, brown mop up hair. Billowing, white vest-overcoat that extended to his ankles.

 

Kaiba.

 

THE Seto Kaiba!

 

The one person and duelist she truly admired, and she had just gruffly told him to watch where he was going.

 

Without saying a word, the young CEO closed the door and walked past Kenzie like she wasn’t even there.

 

“Did he just…?”

 

Pressure built in her chest, hands clenching. Admiree or not, it still enraged her when people ignored something they could issue a simple apology for. Especially when they had caused injury.

 

Well, she was fine, technically. No bumps or scrapes, but it was the principle of the matter… And he looked straight at her. He totally knew what he did!

 

Suddenly, Kenzie was in front of him, blocking his path to the building entrance, luggage forgotten. The loose, pastel pink, crop top swaying to reveal the black tank top underneath that crumpled at her hips where it overlapped the hunter green shorts she wore.

 

“Excuse me,” she began in masked civility. “You hit me with your car door.”

 

“Did I?” He had paused, seeming like he needed a moment to process that someone was talking directly to him. That’s when a cheshire smirk graced his features and the blackness of his turtleneck and pants seemed to violently nudge the foreboding feeling in Kenzie’s stomach. 

 

“Well, I’m sorry that you were in  _ my _ way.”

 

Kenzie felt her face scrunch in offended confusion.

 

“Look, I would just like an apology. You can’t just do that and pretend it didn’t happen.”

 

Kaiba laughed incredulously, killing the righteous resolve she had. This wasn’t like how she expected him to act at all.

 

“How childish,” he announced when he stopped laughing. The answer made Kenzie flinch from the continual spiraling of the bewildering experience.

 

A viciously pointed finger shoved her out of her train of thought.

 

“If you had any idea who I am then you would realize that you were in my way, now step aside.”

 

The declaration hit Kenzie hard enough to remember that Pegasus J. Crawford, creator of the card game that allowed her to have an opportunity to meet her “idol” of the hobby, had told Kenzie that Kaiba was reluctant to sponsor her in his upcoming Battle City Tournament. 

 

But, did he really not know who she was? That realization partly stung.

 

That’s when she noticed he was making his escape.

 

Kenzie quickly moved in front of him, stating, “I’m not letting you through without an apology.” It sounded demanding this time, surprising even to herself.

 

“ _ Move _ ,” he warned darkly. It was almost scarier than his glare.

 

Before Kenzie could properly register how her insides were squirming anxiously, a door from behind bumped her square in her half-up ponytail. She only seemed to steady the jarring inertia by the scene unfolding in front of her. She instinctively checked her hair as she focused on the exchange.

 

“Mokuba, not--”

 

“Seto!”

 

Following the source, she saw a child with a mound of fluffy black hair latched on to Kaiba’s waist. Ah, this must have been Seto Kaiba’s younger brother. The news back home didn’t cover him as much, but Kenzie was aware that Kaiba had a younger brother.

 

Kaiba seemed chastised, giving Kenzie the distinct feeling that he was trying not to make eye contact with anyone during the scene, especially her.

 

“You’re late. You said you’d be here an hour ago,” he stated, letting go of the elder brother’s waist.

 

“I got held up at a client’s office. It couldn’t be helped.” 

 

Kaiba walked past his brother and started toward the entrance. Resolve spread throughout Kenzie’s body and she narrowed her blue eyes as he approached, but it was effectively cut off by Mokuba.

 

“I knew you looked familiar,” he said while closing the gap between Kenzie and himself. He seemed to strike a pose, pointing a knowing finger at her. It was hard not to take in the starkly contrasting, puffy, yellow vest he wore overtop of his long sleeve green and blue striped shirt and jeans.

 

“You’re the American Duelist we’ve been expecting, Mackenzie Ray?”

 

“Uh, yeah…” She hesitated at Mokuba’s outstretched hand, not wanting to get distracted from her vendetta against his older brother. “I go by Kenzie, though.”

 

Tangible waves of confusion emanated from her body as she finally accepted Mokuba’s hand, looking to and from the older Kaiba’s retreating form and the younger brother in front of her. Mokuba took it as a sign to explain further.

 

“I’m Mokuba Kaiba, Seto’s little brother and vice president of Kaiba Corporation.”

 

Kenzie’s eyes bulged. “What?! But you’re like...twelve, right?”

 

“That’s right,” Mokuba paused, puffing out his chest. “And don’t you forget it.”

 

“Wait.”

 

A disdainful recognition cut through the air.

 

Both Kenzie and Mokuba looked to their side and saw that his older brother had snuck up on both them.

 

“You’re that waste of money we ended up sponsoring -- the Default Duelist.”

 

The muscles in Kenzie’s fist clenched, corralling the offended pride that was circling in her chest. That reputation was just going to follow her everywhere, wasn’t it?

 

“For the record,” she paused slightly, folding her arms, “I won the American Tournament.”

 

“Details,” Kaiba flitted his hand dismissively. “Any duelist worth their salt knows you won on a technicality and by no skill of your own.”

 

“It’s not my fault they decided to cheat!” she blurted out in defense. 

 

Her skin was still crawling from the insinuation that she received help on a win. It didn’t help that Kenzie partly agreed with him, but she couldn’t let him know; it would fuel whatever apparently weird vendetta he had against her. Where was this coming from anyway? She had never met him before.

 

"Please. That entire tournament is a farce. No one of any real merit would waste their time with such amateurs," he explained arrogantly. "I guess your attendance, and by proxy, your 'win' of that tournament just shows how disappointing of a duelist you really are. It's an absolute disgrace that Kaiba Corp. has to sponsor someone so ill-fitting to compete in my tournament." 

 

His glare narrowed, the air going cold. "Just do yourself a favor and get out of my sight."

 

Kenzie was so past offended that she didn’t even understand what was going on; it was too overwhelming. She had to get out of here.

 

“I don’t need this,” Kenzie announced loudly, physically removing herself from the conversation.

 

Clearly, she had somehow upset him, but searching through her entire recent interaction, the only thing that possibly fit was her asking for an apology. Which he wasn’t even harping on.

 

Audibly sighing as she continued down the sidewalk, Kenzie shelved that thought to figure it out later. With a graceful motion she grabbed her suitcase and re-shouldered her duffle bag as she marched away. Kenzie felt so stupid having ever admired this guy. He was such a jerk in real life. If he really had such a problem with her, then why continue this contract with Pegasus to sponsor her in the first place?

 

Huh, a ‘problem’.

 

That had to have been it...why he was being such a jerk to her. Kaiba was known for always getting what he wanted. Kenzie hadn’t rightfully claimed her victory in the tournament -- it was ‘handed’ to her. While Kenzie agreed that it wasn’t a win in her heart, it had allowed her a win in other areas of her life, like helping her aunt.

 

But what was she going to do now? Kenzie had essentially told both the president and vice president of the company sponsoring her that she didn’t want to compete under them. Kenzie’s aunt probably dealt with worse people at her job on a regular basis. The weight of the situation forced her gait to sag.

 

"Hey! Kenzie!" a voice called from behind her. Looking back, she saw Mokuba closing the distance between them. "Wait up!"

 

A sigh escaped Kenzie’s lips, sending a quick, silent prayer to her aunt, and tamped down her feeling of wanting to be alone. That’s when she noticed the familiar warm buzz streak through her head, swallowing the panic that tried clawing out of her throat when Mokuba arrived.

 

“Have you checked into your hotel yet? If you haven’t, I’d be glad to get you a limo and take you there.”

 

“Uh…,” she supplied, feeling her eyebrow raise. “You were present for the conversation your brother and I had right? I don’t think he even wants to know you’re considering having me in any Kaiba Corp. property.”

 

Mokuba’s face went serious. “You can’t take Seto so literally. He’s upset about the contract sponsoring you because he hates working with Pegasus. I think your arrival reminded him of that.”

 

“You ‘think’?”

 

A smirk snuck its way onto his face before it faded and he answered, “Anyway, let’s get you that ride.”

 

Mokuba had effectively captured Kenzie’s wrist and started back down the sidewalk, halting soon after because he would have run into someone. A blood-related someone.

 

“Maybe in a cab,” Kaiba paused to capture Kenzie’s eyes and narrowing his in warning. “Because she’s not getting into the same vehicle as me.”

 

The outrage she felt was getting harder to contain. “Would you get over yourself? Just make up your mind if you want to sponsor me or not and stop pulling me around.”

 

Kaiba’s face went neutral. “Just go home, little girl,” he said while turning to leave.

 

Kenzie’s body went hot. She was by no means some ‘little girl’. She was maybe a year or two younger than him! But the throb in her head was impossible to ignore, neutralizing any non-existant comeback she had.

 

“Whatever!”

 

Kenzie tightened the grip on her luggage with vindication, heading further down the sidewalk away from the two businessmen. Screw him AND his tournament. She could find other ways to make money when she got back home. 

 

Home. Was it going to stay that way much longer?

 

“Kenzie, wait!”

 

It was Mokuba again, but she didn’t want to be bothered anymore. Kenzie quickened her pace, hoping he’d give up.

 

He didn’t.

 

“I know my brother can be a bit of a jerk sometimes--”

 

Kenzie made a nasty, involuntary sound.

 

“--he's okay once you get to know him. Honest! He's just mad about the contract."

 

“Well he shouldn’t be taking it out on me,” she snapped, now cursing the added effort. The throbbing in her head leaked to the base of her neck and she fought off the reflex to cradle it.

 

"Okay, okay," he placated with his hands, still keeping pace. "So you don't like my brother. At least let us drive you to your hotel. We owe you that much."

 

Stopping abruptly, she turned to Mokuba solemnly. "As much as I like the fact that a world renowned corporation owes me something, I'm going to have to decline."

 

His jaw dropped open, clearly not expecting your answer.

 

"Why not?!" he shrieked in disbelief. Kenzie sighed, shaking her head.

 

"Mokuba, you're a nice person," she began, "and you’ll be a great president one day, but it's a shame how you ended up being related to that jerk. I'm not going to put up with being treated like crap just because your brother has a problem with me."

 

"Hey!" he jumped in front of her, beginning an attorney defense of his brother. "I told you he's upset about the contract.  _ And _ , you can't take how he treats people, personally. He's like that with everyone he first meets. He just needs time to warm up to you."

 

Kenzie’s eyes rolled in disbelief. "I'm sure... And why would I even want to be a sponsoree of someone who's mean to everyone like that? It’s self-flagellation."

 

A brief look of confusion passed through Mokuba’s face before his resolve came back full force, raising a thoughtful finger. "Well, you wouldn't want people to judge you based on your reputation, right? Doing that to Seto would make you just as bad as how he treated you."

 

Kenzie quickly looked away, feeling reprimanded, and ignoring the slight vision change from her headache. "Are you trying to say that I'm the acting the same as him?"

 

"I'm not saying you need to forgive him," he dodged, "but you should at least let us give you a ride to your hotel, as an apology for how you've been treated."

 

Kenzie’s demeanor visibly softened, the intensity of the throbbing calming ever so slightly. Although she couldn't even stand the thought of his brother right now, she had to admit, Mokuba's tenacity and loyalty to his brother was admirable...even if the admiree was a jerk. Maybe accepting the offer would be okay as long as she did it for Mokuba.

 

Kenzie sighed, "Just a ride to the hotel?"

 

He smiled. "Yes!"

 

Just as she was about to accept the offer, a limo drew close to the sidewalk and stopped when the back window came face to face with her and Mokuba. The automatic window ominously traveled downward, revealing none other than Seto Kaiba himself, looking more than displeased. Just seeing his face made Kenzie’s headache explode. She hid the reflexive wince with a scowl.

 

"Get in the limo."

 

It was a demand. An order.

 

Kenzie could not deal with this. Not when the mere sight of him was giving her a headache. 

 

"I'm sorry, Mokuba," Kenzie spun on her heel to walk away, "but I can’t accept."

 

Behind Kenzie’s retreat, she made out the sound of a foot stomp followed by a scolding, ‘Seto!’ before her headache started to demand attention. The more she held onto the anger of the CEO, the more it began to hurt. Her stomach began an unsettling churn as she felt sweat breech her hairline. There was an overwhelming feeling of sickness that washed through her body.

 

"I said get in the limo. You're lucky I even reconsidered," an angry voice snapped.

 

Kenzie halted, fighting a wave of dizziness from the action of spinning her head around. "No, I'm not going to get into the same vehicle with you." 

 

It's not that she hated him, but she just--

 

"Don't flatter yourself," he spat in outrage. "The feeling's mutual!"

 

\-- No, she really did hate him. That had to be why she was getting so irritated by him.

 

Kenzie’s head twinged in response to the emotional upheaval, now trying to cushion it with her hand.

 

"Well then if you hate me so much then get. LOST!" she enunciated while walking away. 

 

Kenzie stumbled as a wave of nausea hit her hard, dulling her headache in an out-of-body way, and muffling her senses. She saw her duffle bag fall lifelessly to the ground. The horizon of the ground flipped slowly as black dots starting popping into her vision, until blackness overcame her.

 

>>>chapterEnd<<<


	2. One of Those Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaiba calls 911. Hilarity ensues for...well, just the audience.

>>>chapterBegin<<<

 

“Kenzie!”

 

The elder Kaiba had been making his exit from the limo when he saw his brother move toward the American Duelist’s still form.

 

“Don’t touch her,” he barked, ripping the cellphone out from his pocket and dialing.

 

Mokuba rolled his eyes, moving to check Kenzie’s vitals. “She’s unconscious, Seto. Not contagious.”

 

“Not with her preceding reputation.”

 

Kaiba didn’t need to explain why he didn’t like the American Duelist to his younger brother, but he still wanted to get across that he disapproved of his amiable feelings towards her.

 

The brothers’ eyes met in sibling disagreement before Kaiba broke it off and ‘greeted’ the voice on the other end of his phone.

 

_ “What’s your emergency sir?” _

 

“An unconscious girl near the Kaiba Corp. headquarters.”

 

_ “Is she breathing?” _

 

“Unfortunately.”

 

_ “Does she have a pulse?” _

 

“Regrettably.”

 

_ “Sir, are you aware you are giving responses that are red flags?” _

 

“If I am it’s because she’s been a leech to my company since she got here and she just collapsed on me.”

 

_ “She collapsed?” _

 

“Yes, she collapsed.”

 

_ “Do you have any idea what may have caused her to lose consciousness?” _

 

“No. Now just get here and get her out of my sight!” Kaiba demanded, snapping the phone shut. Affirmation just wasn’t necessary when he needed something to happen.

 

It was beyond aggravating that he had to even deal with this. The thought of dissolving the contract with Pegasus was more enticing now than it had ever been. Kaiba didn’t have time to waste on ‘mysteries’ like the one laying sprawled on the ground near his brother, regardless that it had caught his attention.

 

The faint sound of a siren was heard in the distance as Kaiba’s eyes rested on Mokuba, who was getting up from beside their sponsoree. His shoulders relaxed and a heavy realization hit him about the contract: He was doing this for Mokuba and no one else. However, that recognition still couldn’t shake the antagonizing thrum he had felt in his body since he met the American Duelist.

 

“Seto,” Mokuba tried cautiously as he stood. Kaiba, being too irritated by the current situation to offer a verbal response, merely raised an expectant eyebrow.

 

“I know you’re upset about the contract with Pegasus, but do you really have to take it out on her? Unless, this isn’t just from getting stuck sponsoring her...”

 

The elder brother visually paused, eyes closing in frustration and pride at the younger brother's perceptive skills.

 

"Aside from her childish behavior," he explained in a steady tone as he thumbed through his phone’s emails, "she's the Default Duelist. She hasn't earned anything she's been given since the American Tournament."

 

"...And you're upset she didn't earn her status because she was such a promising duelist?" Mokuba supplied. 

 

The hint of mischief growing in Mokuba’s voice drew Kaiba’s gaze, making his nose scrunch in distaste.

 

“What have I told you about putting words into people’s mouths?”

 

"To not do it unless you're right," he recited innocently, a thoughtful finger on his cheek.

 

"And the first part of that is to 'not do it'," Kaiba came back without missing a beat. He was peering around to make sure none of the onlookers were taking pictures or videos of the scene. He seriously needed to watch what he told his brother...specifically about what things applied to him.

 

Luckily, Mokuba had stopped his curious questions. Kaiba knew his brother had been overly excited that he had started following Kenzie when she was picking up steam in the American Dueling Circuit. Something about ‘not wasting all of his time on Yugi.’ Fat lot of good that did him. Kenzie had just ended up being a disappointment once the American Tournament fiasco was resolved. He had ended up with dashed hopes and a business-ball-and-chain-worthy contract he couldn’t get out of with Pegasus.

 

Kaiba’s ever loyal and efficient right-hand man, Roland, had popped out of the driver side of the limo and began placating the increasingly concerned onlookers. 

 

"Nothing to see here, it's been taken care of. An ambulance is on the way." 

 

Kaiba made a mental note to see if Roland had gotten his annual raise when he got back to headquarters. Then the growing intensity of the siren was drawing closer caught his attention. The ambulance would be here any second.

 

He watched as Mokuba instructed the medical team before they lifted the American Duelist’s body on the stretcher and released an exasperated sigh. This was going to be a bigger headache than dealing with Yugi and his friends. As the sponsor, he was liable for any emergency situation that happened to her. And Pegasus would definitely hold this over his head if anything bad would happen...maybe even use this against him to gain control of KaibaCorp.? No. Without the Big Five, Pegasus had no reason to try anything like that again. Although, Kaiba couldn't deny the suspicion since he had already been betrayed by him once before.

 

Kaiba crossed his arms as his haze of thoughts dissipated. If he wanted complete control over this situation, he was going to have to go to the hospital. He wasn't sure whether to blame his sponsoree or Pegasus for this predicament.

 

Without coming to a conclusion, he got back in the limo, Mokuba close behind him, as they waited for Roland to get Kenzie’s luggage and get back in. It was uncomfortably silent in the limo as Mokuba tried to gently reposition himself in his seat while not causing any seat-rubbing sounds. There was the sound of a door closing further in the front of the car, followed by the buzzing sound of a descending automatic window between the driver and passenger sections of the car.

 

"Head to Domino Hospital," Kaiba instructed without moving, holding his arms and legs in a closed-off position. His eyes never opened as he added, "The emergency unit."

 

"We're going to the hospital?"

 

The elder brother didn’t move. There was a loaded pause in the air, hanging thickly between the reflective interior of the limo. It was aggravating.

 

"I'm going to make sure it's handled as expediently as possible," Kaiba supplied, gracing his eyes upon him for the duration of the answer. He heard Mokuba shift in his seat, creating seat-rubbing noises that echoed in the tiny space.

 

"So you're not worried about Kenzie at all?"

 

Kaiba's face scrunched in distaste, but his voice was steady: "I'm worried about how much of a nuisance she's going to be is she's already conned a hospital visit out of me."

 

Mokuba suddenly giggled, drawing Kaiba’s attention. The bored glance he gave his little brother abruptly cut off the laughter. Kaiba leaned his head on a propped fist near the window of the door as he set him a look. "What are you so amused about?"

 

Mokuba smiled, giddily making his way over to the empty portion of the seating Kaiba inhabited. "Admit it," he smirked with a pointed finger. "You're curious."

 

Kaiba turned his head away without a word, eyes closing in discontent before peering out of the tinted window. 

 

His brother's imagination sure was...perceptive sometimes. So what if he was interested in the reason Kenzie suddenly passed out? His motivation for seeing this through was purely business related. He didn't need Pegasus to hold anything else over his head, especially with the lurking risk that betrayal could still be possible, even if this co-sponsored contract was a step towards reparations. Kaiba was loathe to admit it, but he needed Pegasus' business to keep his afloat -- how else was he going to get designs for future Duel Monster expansions? Duel Monsters was a game that supported most of the work of his company, but he needed to keep as much power in-line with Pegasus as possible. There was no way he was going to allow Pegasus, or any other company he dealt with in the future to take advantage of him again.

 

"I'm not saying that you're 'interested' in her, Seto," Mokuba admitted seriously, breaking him out of his thoughts. "But it was nice to see you begin to be concerned over another duelist besides Yugi. I just didn't want to see that go away."

 

Kaiba glanced over at his brother from the corner of his eye; he was practically emanating tangible skepticism. "She isn't getting that privilege now."

 

Mokuba practically flopped in the seat in frustration. "C'mon, big bro! It was one tournament! And you even said that her deck strategy was 'refreshing' to Duel Monsters. You're not even going to give her a chance, even for the sake of Kaiba Corp?"

 

Damn his little brother. Maybe he should become a politician... Mokuba brought up a good point. Yugi did have a few times where he faltered as a duelist, namely when he let personal feelings affect his ability to do well, but he still had the reputation as Duel Champion. Perhaps Kenzie did have the ability to become a worthy duelist?

 

Kaiba sighed, not really believing that she would be able to prove herself in a tournament of his own design. Anyway, his patience was wearing thin for this conversation. 

 

"If she's able to prove her skill in Battle City, we'll see what happens."

 

The contained dance of joy that Mokuba did almost made his acquiescence worth it. Then he saw Mokuba’s demeanor crash into irritation. He must have remembered that no one received "free passes" or exceptions from him, even Yugi. Mokuba would just have to get over it. Besides, his little brother was the only person he ever gave exceptions to.

 

"Mr. Kaiba, We've reached Domino Hospital's Emergency Unit."

 

"Good. Find a parking spot. I don't know how long this is going to take." He glided out of the limo with Mokuba scurrying after him, carefully observing that an ambulance was pulling away from the entrance foyer.

 

Kaiba was unfazed by the breath of ice the greeted him from the automatic doors. His eyes were locked onto the timid looking receptionist behind a small window as he easily passed the horde of sick and injured in the waiting room. As if she could feel his gaze, she looked up from what she was doing, her back locking into an awkward position as she stood up to greet him. 

 

"H-Hello sir. How may I help you?" She nervously fixed her short brown hair.

 

Kaiba was unfazed by the receptionist’s unease, causing an air of anticipatory silence to the space between them, even with the disorienting jumble of voices and noises in the room.

 

“I'm with the patient who just arrived by ambulance.”

 

The receptionist’s hesitant smile wavered. "I'm sorry sir, could you be more specific? Who are you looking for?"

 

Before Kaiba had a chance to take out his day's frustrations out on the innocent lady, Mokuba jumped in. 

 

"Kenzie Ray."

 

The lady behind the counter immediately started clicking on the way, full attention on her computer. “Let’s see… Ah! Here it is. Looks like room 17, but not all of her information is--”

 

Kaiba took it upon himself to head straight to the room. Mokuba followed him.

 

“Hey! You can't see her yet!" they heard the receptionist call desperately, looking back to see her head poking out of the window. "Visitors aren't allowed until she's been seen by the doctor!" 

 

“Look here--”

 

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Mokuba spat in surprising authority for an eleven year old. " _ The _ Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp. He donates to this hospital!"

 

The receptionist paled and quickly retracted herself from the window, pretending that nothing had even happened.

 

Kaiba, while taken aback by his brother’s initiative, lead the two of them further down the hall to their destination. Soon, they both had entered a room from Kaiba's lead, noticing there was a nurse taking Kenzie’s vitals. She looked up with a plain expression, flitting her long black hair out of the way. She certainly wasn't a pushover like the receptionist.

 

"Can I help you?"

 

Mokuba preemptively took the cue for his brother. Kaiba had no problems just laying back and having him handle this nonsense.

 

"Registration sent us here; we were with her went it happened," Mokuba explained, noticing the dripping skepticism from the nurse's face. Quickly, he covered, "Her family is out of the country right now."

 

The nurse's expression softened, the quick shift in demeanor was enough to make anyone uneasy. "Why didn't you say she was friend?" 

 

Then she walked out of the room after scribbling something on a board, hanging it up outside the door.

 

Mokuba audibly released the breath he was holding. "Whew! I thought they weren't going to let us see her unless we were family."

 

Kaiba only grunted contemptuously from his chair he just sat in. Mokuba wouldn't have had to cover for them if they didn't have a sponsoree who had an emergency on the day she got here. Yes, Kenzie was certainly going to be a nuisance, he knew it. If only Pegasus didn't have the great idea of wanting to to create a Duel Monsters program for orphaned and wayward youths, he wouldn't be in this situation. Kaiba's jaw clenched. Even if she was the sponsoree for Pegasus' efforts, there was nothing in the contract that said he had to like it...or her.

 

Mokuba gave a weary sigh as he took a seat up the matching gray chair next to him. 

 

There was a disconnected groan from the other side of the room, and Mokuba flew over to the American duelist’s besides. Kaiba glowered.

 

"Hey! You're awake!"

 

>>>chapterEnd<<<

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you all think of the 911 phone call? I can't even tell you how much I laughed writing this.


	3. The Hospital Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzie wakes up in the hospital and is still in danger from a grumpy CEO.

>>>chapterBegin<<<

 

White, fluorescent lighting assaulted Kenzie’s eyes as she gradually came to, her eyes protesting violently in a hollow ache. Her head lulled back and forth a few times, trying to grasp some semblance of equilibrium before it would allow her to sit up. Slowly, she raised herself up until her elbows locked to keep balance, suddenly noticing just how sluggish she felt.

 

Kenzie’s vision took a while to clear. There was lingering head pain giving off jealous pangs of attention to blame for that. Blinking was feat she had to focus on, but it was helping the room become clear. She saw white walls and a...

 

Wait. Walls? Wasn’t she outside of the KaibaCorp building?

 

A wave of dread washed over her, making Kenzie’s head slosh back. She hated when her migraines got this bad. It made her feel like a burden. 

 

Rousing Kenzie out of her morose thoughts was a shrill voice that made her headache spike.

 

"Hey! You're awake!"

 

Kenzie answered with a hiss, cradling her head with a hand. Then, there was a public address system that turned on.

 

_ “Nurse Binki, please report to the nurse’s station. Nurse Binki, to the nurse’s station. Thank you.” _

 

"Nurses...? Then I’m--"

 

"You're in the Domino Emergency Care Unit," it said in cool irritation, clearing the grogginess still clinging to her head.

 

There was no way Kenzie was going to forget the sound of that grumpy drama queen’s voice. She found the said room inhabitant sitting in the gray chair closest to the door, arms and legs crossed indignantly as he was fixed her with a perturbed face. Well, Kenzie hadn’t asked for his help, so he could take his pouting somewhere else.

 

Inspecting the room and confirming her suspicions, Kenzie was underwhelmed by the sterility and plainness of the hospital room. It gave her a minimalist, almost mechanical feeling. Maybe it was because everything in the room was either white, gray, or chrome, or, that Kaiba didn’t seem out of place here. Especially since he was still drilling Kenzie with a look she still couldn’t figure out. She tried ignoring it, not wanting to make the rhythmic, painful hum to stay where it was. He may have helped her get to the hospital in the first place.

 

“So, how did I--”

 

“Ambulance.”

 

The stark contrast of Kaiba’s real-life demeanor and the idolized image Kenzie held of him was enough to make her annoyed with herself, but she had to admit she was in no mood to give him any benefit of the doubt.

 

“You didn’t have to come,” Kenzie tried to sound as annoyed as she could, massaging her head. “I would have been fine on my own."

 

“Sure you would have.”

 

Kenzie ignored the desire to childishly argue with him. Instead, she focused on her parched throat and her new mission to get out of the stuffy room. Cautiously, she slid off the examination bed while keeping a steady hand attached. Fighting off a brief dizzy spell, she slowly made her. Unfortunately, with Kaiba situated right next to the door, she was slightly apprehensive that he was say or do something to get under her skin. Kenzie straightened her back as she reached out for the handle.

 

“Where do you think you're going?"

 

"Why is it any concern of yours?"

 

Kaiba never shifted his position, only his head turned when he acknowledged her. "I don't know if you're aware of this in your current state, but it's not the brightest idea to go prancing around after blacking out."

 

Reflexively closing her eyes, Kenzie tried to block out the rising frustration that this, volatile adolescent mogul, was causing her. He needed to stop making his self-inflicted inconvenience her problem.

 

"I'm telling you, I'm  _ fine _ ." Kenzie boldly met his eyes with a challenging gaze. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be back in less than two minutes, constable."

 

Kenzie preemptively flung the door closed behind her to cut Kaiba off, satisfied that some of the frustration was out of her system. Heaving a sigh, she looked up to see about twelve different pairs of eyes on her. They belonged to several nurses in the hallway, and some neighboring patients and visitors in rooms with their doors ajar.

 

Her insides froze and squirmed at the same time, desperately willing for her mouth to move. 

 

"Oh, um, sorry...about that," she managed pathetically before scooting away with a flushed face. She hadn’t thought she slammed the door that loud.

 

Sheepishly, Kenzie walked away until she was out of range of the nurse’s station, then realizing she wasn’t sure if her destination would lead her to a water fountain. Dammit, she never allowed herself to get so easily distracted. It had to be Kaiba.

 

Kenzie continued walking, trying to mask that she had no idea where she was going. 

 

The Seto Kaiba she had met today was so...baffling. The Kaiba she admired had gained enough power and authority at a young age that he could make his own decisions and do whatever he wanted with his life. She dared to admit that she was even envious of it. Kenzie always thought he’d at least act differently to her since she fought her way through tournaments for the chance to meet him. In her eyes, she had proven her worth to Seto Kaiba’s standards.

 

The contractual opportunity that Pegasus provided from winning the American Tournament gave Kenzie that chance, but Kaiba didn’t even seem to care. Pegasus had warned her that he was more interested in her dueling capability than her application to be an intern for the Industrial Illusions-Kaiba Corporation co-sponsored Duel Camp Project. 

 

An upsetting realization hit Kenzie once she happened to find a water fountain: Kaiba hadn’t read her application at all! He really was more interested in the card game than actual people. That thought stung so hard she didn’t register she was trying to get a drink until the water made contact with her cheek.

 

Kenzie reflexively wiped her face, glaring at the fountain like it did it on purpose before turning to walk back to the room.

 

Maybe, it was good that Kaiba hadn’t read her application. After all, Pegasus’s application for the internship was a bit touchy for Kenzie to fill out in some places, like how she got into dueling and what motivated her to keep going. She understood that it was needed to see how the applicant fit with the goals of the Duel Camp Project, but she didn’t even want to know how Kaiba would react to her needing money to help pay for her aunt’s lung cancer treatments now.

 

Kenzie’s heart was heavy as she opened the door to her room. She encountered a towering Kaiba with a demanding glare.

 

“Three minutes, forty-two seconds.”

 

It took her a full second to fully comprehend his declaration.

 

“Wait, you actually  _ counted _ ?”

 

He grunted, closing his eyes like he was winning. What it was, Kenzie had no idea. 

 

"Well, with you fainting all the time it was hard for me not to conclude that you hadn't after almost four minutes by yourself."

 

"I didn't faint!"

 

"Really?" Kaiba raised an incriminating eyebrow at her reaction. "Then what  _ were _ you doing then, 'resting your eyes'?"

 

Kenzie gave him a withering glare, raising a dismissive hand as she started towards the examination bed.

 

“Just mind your own business.”

 

"'Mind my own business'?!" Tangible frustration suddenly filled the room, pricking at Kenzie’s skin. "I  _ could _ have minded my own business if you hadn't shown up, fainted in front of me, and  _ made _ yourself my business!"

 

Kenzie was grasping the bed behind her, bracing herself from Kaiba’s onslaught. He seemed to pause, though, as if realizing the power differential of the situation. She noticed this and seized the opportunity to defend herself.

 

"I told you," she worked up to sounding forceful, pointing her finger at him for added effect, "you didn't have to help me! You can just leave. I don't nee--"

 

"Get back on the examination bed and stop wasting my time." The chilling glare he gave was enough to just do what he said, but Kenzie still felt the need to be vindicated. She furrowed her brows until she felt confident enough to speak.

 

“I don’t have to take this,” she announced, slipping off the bed and making towards the door.

 

Her escape plan was dissolved when Mokuba came in, following by a man in a white lab coat.

 

“Found the doctor!” Mokuba immediately made to sit next to Kaiba’s chair, who was approaching his seat as the doctor came fully into the room.

 

“Well, you must be MacKenzie Ray, I presume?” The doctor seemed more interested in the file he was carrying as he shut the door behind him.

 

Kenzie glowered in accusation at the door, thinking it might solve her dilemma, but when she heard the folder hit the counter and the doctor rustle through papers, she resigned herself to just seeing it through. If the doctor was here she were practically done anyway.

 

She met Kaiba’s eyes in a pointed glare before hopping back onto the bed. He smirked.

 

"So...," the doctor began as he spun around in the chair effortlessly to meet her eyes. He motioned to Mokuba before he began. "This young gentleman informed me that you fainted. Do we know what that was from?"

 

Kenzie inwardly groaned. ‘Fainting’ made her seem like a weak, reliant damsel, which she tried hard not to be despite her condition.

 

“It was a migraine.”

 

"Ah," the doctor mutely exclaimed, looking through the file again. He scratched his thickly streaked white and gray hair. 

 

"You did take your medication for today, didn't you? Since you just arrived here, I can understand how easy it would be to forget it."

 

"No, I took it," Kenzie assured, but trying to keep her eyes away from Kaiba and any part of that side of the room. "So I don't understand why I got one."

 

Still glancing at the file, the doctor answered, "I can see why you would think that, but you just drastically changed your routine and surrounding environment. It seems unbelievable, but that can be stressful and force your body to react in different ways."

 

Kenzie would have pressed on the topic, but she could feel an impatient aura from Kaiba. That was fine, because she didn’t want to discuss anything more personal with Kaiba in the room anyway.

 

"Fine," she sighed in reluctance, folding her arms. "What's the verdict then?"

 

"Just take it easy," the doctor stood, grabbing a pen and a prescription pad from his pocket, scratching on it furiously. "I'm prescribing you a stronger medicine for your time here." 

 

Then the doctor handed the script to Kenzie, grabbed a clipboard with the file from the counter, and made his way to Kaiba. "I'll need you to sign here, Mr. Kaiba and then she'll be free to leave."

 

Kenzie stared at the script while being vaguely aware that the doctor had opened the door and left the room, letting the sounds of the hallway flood in. There was no way she were going to let this get in her way. She had been given an opportunity to prove herself to Pegasus at the very least, and she wasn’t going to throw that way.

 

"What're you doing?" 

 

Kenzie took it as her cue to slide off the bed and follow Kaiba and Mokuba out the door.

 

"Nothing. Just zoned out a bit." Her eyes were still trained on the prescription in her hand.

 

As soon as Kenzie starting walking, the two boys in front of her continued on down the hallway. They found the emergency room and made a beeline for the automatic doors. She noticed they were heading straight to the limo, but she was reluctant to follow them, even if Mokuba would be present.

 

“I’ll call for a taxi,” Kenzie announced confidently as Kaiba stopped midway into the limo. “I’m sure you’re busy planning for the tournament so--”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Kaiba was looking at her like she was stupid. Kenzie took it as a challenge.

 

"Okay, you clearly don't like me, right? So, I figure I'll save us both the hassle and just get a taxi to the hotel."

 

“Look,” he began, getting back out of the limo. "I'm not going to have a walking insurance risk to my business fainting everywhere, so shut up and get in."

 

“I didn’t--”

 

"--Faint," he finished for her, now holding open the door. "I know what you said. Stop playing your tough act and get in the limo."

 

"Stop treating me like a child!" Kenzie stomped her foot for good measure, glaring at Kaiba with just as much intensity.

 

"Then stop acting like one."

 

Kenzie’s back straightened in rebellion. Was there anything he couldn’t frame as an insult?

 

"Ha! You're one to talk. You still haven't even apologized to me.  _ If _ you even did it on accident."

 

Kaiba sighed, frustration distinctively cutting through his face. 

 

"Just get in the limo," he spat, deepening his glare since Kenzie was starting to make a scene.

 

“Why should I when you’ve been nothing but a jerk to me this entire time?” Like hell she was getting in that limo. Not when she finally had the upperhand. “Why did you even agree to this contract if you weren’t even going to like it?”

 

Kaiba's face went flat after that question. He seemed to be considering something, which was unnerving because his stare was mildly intimidating.

 

“What?” Kenzie’s eyebrow shot up, feeling exposed.

 

Suddenly, Mokuba’s head popped out of the open door between the two of them. 

 

“Are you guys done yet? We still have to get to the hotel before we have lunch, Seto.”

 

Kaiba’s glare intensified and Kenzie finally relinquished this round to him by breaking the staring contest. She wasn’t going to be an imposition for Mokuba.

 

Kenzie grudgingly got into the limo, Kaiba following and shut the door behind them.

 

>>>chapterEnd<<<

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else catch the YGOTAS reference in this chapter? Couldn't resist.


	4. Everything's Coming Up...Business?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzie finds out that Kaiba's not telling her something... Otherwise, why would he be so mean to her? Also, Kenzie finally meets more of the cast!

>>>chapterBegin<<<

 

Once the door shut and the limo slowly pulled away, a stifling feeling clouded the car. In an attempt to ignore the awkward haze, Kenzie tried to observe the richness of the limo interior.  _ Trying _ because she heard the occasional discontented noise from Kaiba’s direction, but whenever she looked up he was always looking out of the window.

 

While there wasn’t much in they way of extravagant decorations, it was clean, shiny, and made from the best materials: black leather seats, black velour carpet, dark wooden accents, what Kenzie was pretty sure was a cherrywood mini-bar...

 

“So Kenzie. When did you start getting migraines?”

 

The question had startled her. Mokuba could cut through tension like it was butter.

 

Kenzie quickly peered over to Kaiba to see if he was poised for judgment. Surprisingly, it looked like he wasn’t even listening, more interested with whatever was on his phone screen. She decided it was safe to answer Mokuba’s question.

 

“Around five or six.”

 

Mokuba cleared his throat, painfully highlighting the suffocating air of the car. 

 

"I heard migraines are hereditary."

 

Kenzie took a moment to look away from both of the brothers, feeling a twinge in her chest.

 

“Uh, yeah. They can be. My doctor back home said mine were. My mother had them, too."

 

"That sucks," Mokuba frowned. "Were your mother's as bad as yours?"

 

"I, uh, don't really know. My mother passed away before mine...even started." The question was unexpected, bringing back some painful memories Kenzie had of missing her mother. 

 

"Sorry,” he mumbled sincerely. Mokuba’s face was hidden by the edge of his yellow, puffer vest collar and his hair.

 

“It’s okay,” Kenzie coaxed, bending over a little to catch his eyes with a gentle smile. “No harm done.”

 

Mokuba gave a shy smile, looking over to his brother briefly before gaining some confidence back.

 

“I’d love to see your deck. Do you have it with you?”

 

Kenzie paled, going ramrod straight. 

 

“It’s in my duffel bag...”

 

A jeering sound was heard from Kaiba’s side of the limo. Kenzie caught a quick look of warning on Mokuba’s face directed at his brother.

 

“Don’t worry, Roland got it before we went to the hospital.” 

 

“Who’s Roland?”

 

“He’s the one driving right now,” Mokuba supplied as he climbed over to knock on the privacy window.

 

“Roland is my most trusted advisor and bodyguard,” Kaiba finished solemnly. His phone was nowhere to be seen, but he was still in a closed off position with his eyes shut.

 

“He sounds like an invaluable employee to the company,” Kenzie considered, turning away from him.

 

Mokuba flopped back down beside Kenzie and laid the bag on her lap with a smile that could crack his face in half.

 

“Thanks.” 

 

Kenzie unzipped the bag and found the plastic box she kept her deck of cards in, delicately handing them to Mokuba.

 

Mokuba’s eyes lit up, holding the deck in awe for a moment before flipping through them. Kenzie watched him with interest. While she didn’t have many rare cards in her deck, she still coveted it like they all were. 

 

Kenzie was only able to get ahold of common cards from booster packs that were bought for her as gifts and stray cards her classmates would literally throw in the trash. She had also realized the cards she scavenged had a unique strategy -- forcing her opponents to surrender because they couldn’t draw any cards. Once she started participating in local tournaments and winning cards or money, she was able to build on that strategy to cause life point damage on top of ridding her opponent of a deck. Needless to say, she was proud of it.

 

“A lot of these cards look worn,” Mokuba mentioned distractedly.

 

“Oh, those are all cards I’ve had since I began dueling,” Kenzie explained as she struggled to leave her thoughts. “I actually just bought some new card sleeves for the tournament but I hadn’t gotten a chance to put them on yet.”

 

“Don’t bother,” Kaiba brusquely intervened, startling Kenzie. “What we’ll be using to duel in the tournament won’t be able to read your cards otherwise.”

 

Kenzie exchanged discerning looks with the CEO. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say, but for some reason he wasn’t saying it. She thought it best to ignore him, turning back to Mokuba and began making small talk.

 

“So, any cards pique your interest?”

 

Mokuba responded with indecisive noises before answering.

 

“That Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi card looks pretty cool,” he said, flipping back through the deck before finding the card. 

 

"Heh," Kaiba grunted sardonically. "Don't tell me you’ve switched to one of those lame spirit-creature decks, because I've stomped out everyone who's come across me with one." 

 

Kenzie’s face went sour. She really wished he’d stop trying to start something.

 

“No, Kaiba. It isn’t.”

 

She reclined in her seat, letting the cool, supple leather cushion her back as she stared at the prescription from the doctor. Then, she put it in the duffel bag with conviction. Kenzie didn’t need to get a stronger prescription. Not when she could see the trigger in front of her that she could just avoid for the rest of her time here.

 

“What’s your problem?”

 

A tingle of embarrassment spread through Kenzie’s limbs, not realizing she was looking at Kaiba.

 

“Nothing,” she replied dismissively, looking back at Mokuba and hoping Kaiba wouldn’t fixate on it. She didn’t want to get into another ‘debate’ with him about anything, but if she had to then she’d gladly finish it.

 

“‘House of Adhesive Tape’?” Mokuba queried aloud, looking to his brother for clarification.

 

“It’s a waste of card, Mokuba.” Kaiba snapped his head around quickly, fixing Kenzie with a scrutinizing look. “And it just goes to show how much of an amateur you are for carrying such trash in your deck.”

 

“Okay,  _ what _ is your problem?” Kenzie finally blurted out.

 

The air was thick in the limo again. Kaiba cut through the constricting atmosphere only after a moment of consideration.

 

“If you can’t figure it out, then you don’t deserve to be here.”

 

Kenzie sucked her teeth, allowing herself to feel all of the offense that was intended from the comment, and the fact that he was deflecting.

 

“No. I qualified for everything in the contract between you and Pegasus. You’ve treated me like crap since I got here, and now you’re knocking my deck, which is something I know you’ve actually paid attention to, so what is it?” Her voice was nearly reverberating off of the windows now. “What could I have possibly done to you?”

 

“You’re here on a technicality. You haven’t earned anything, so stop acting so entitled,” Kaiba said with fervor, leaning in and pointing at her.

 

“Oh, really?  _ That’s _ what this is about? Just because I received one technical win, that makes me unworthy?”

 

“If you were any duelist at all, you would realize the stigma you’re putting on my company by just showing up after a fiasco like that.”

 

“Then what do you want me to do about it, Kaiba? I got to the tournament finals on my own skill, but I can’t change the fact that the tournament committee found that some of the duelists cheated, or the fact that they gave me a technical win.” Kenzie heaved a big sigh, slapping her hands down on her lap. “So what do you want from me?!”

 

“Leave,” he answered simply, closing his eyes for a moment. “Since you clearly recognize your title was handed to you, you can do our reputations both a favor and just go home.”

 

“No. I’m not wasting this opportunity. I have other reasons for dueling than just myself. You’re the only one who seems to have a problem with it.”

 

“It’s not merely a ‘problem’ when you’re affronting my company.” 

 

Kaiba wasn’t even fazed by the logic she was laying out right in front of him.

 

“Well, it’s not my  _ problem _ that you can’t say ‘no’ to a contract. You’re a multi-billion dollar company, so act like it.”

 

Kaiba poised to lash out, but was cut off.

 

“It’s not that easy, Kenzie,” Mokuba boldly engaged the tension. “Pegasus sort of has us in a bind with the contract.”

 

Kenzie expectantly waited for the rest of the explanation, chancing a look at Kaiba to see that he receded into his seat, preferring to look out of the window.

 

“It’s for a good cause and we want to be apart of it,” Mokuba replied softly. “Aside from all of the excellent future business benefits of the partnership, that is.”

 

“Okay, that’s great,” Kenzie began, effectively dragging the CEO’s eyes back to her and challenging him. “But that doesn’t explain why your brother’s being so rude to me about it.”

 

A look of warning plastered his face. 

 

“Drop it.”

 

“Not unless you guarantee that you’ll stop harassing me about the American Tournament.”

 

Kaiba’s eyes narrowed in contempt, a smirk taking shape on his face.

 

“You’re in no position to negotiate, Default Duelist.”

 

Perspiration seeped at the ends of Kenzie’s hands and her hair tingled. When she felt the edges of a fog building up in her head again, she put the proverbial foot down. She was not going to subject herself to this and get a second migraine in one day.

 

“Stop the car.”

 

“Why?” Kaiba was looking at her like she was stupid again.

 

Kenzie evenly gazed at the CEO while extending an open hand over to Mokuba, awaiting her deck to be returned.

 

“I’m walking the rest of the way to the hotel.”

 

“Kenzie, you just got released from the hospital,” Mokuba hesitated while gingerly giving the deck back. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

 

“You’re being ridiculous.”

 

“ _ I’m _ being ‘ridiculous’? You’ve got some nerve calling me that when you’re blaming me for something I didn’t even do. Now stop the limo.”

 

“I’ll stop the limo when we arrive at the hotel, or, you agree to go to airport.”

 

“Not a chance. You let me arrive here for the tournament and I’m going to see it through.”

 

“Then you’re not walking to the hotel.”

 

A glaring match ensued, each challenging the other to let up. A righteous resolve pulsed through Kenzie’s blood, reflexively tightening the grip on her deck of cards. She would be damned if she allowed herself to look away now. She wasn’t going to let him win this time, not when he was acting so absurd.

 

“So, Kenzie, you mentioned that you had some other reasons for dueling. You don’t just want the prize money or the title?” 

 

From Kenzie’s peripheral, Mokuba was bending over in the seat next to her, trying to draw her eyesight.

 

“Nope,” she replied tersely, never breaking eye contact with Kaiba as she straightened in the seat.

 

“Okay… But, I’m kind of curious. Why wouldn’t you care about the title or prize money?” Mokuba was using his brother’s loaded pauses, and Kenzie wrestled with the instinctive reaction to look at him. To fight it, she crossed her legs and folded her arms, brows furrowing obstinately. The unrelenting tightening of the grip on her deck fueled her resolve.

 

“I’ll tell you when your brother stops being unreasonable.”

 

Mokuba sucked his teeth, sagging back in the seat. “C’mon, Kenzie. That isn’t fair.”

 

“While I agree with your brother about how I received the title for the American Tournament, there’s no way I’m going to share something as personal as why I’m pushing through this humiliation to attend the tournament. Not when I keep getting harassed for no good reason.”

 

“That’s enough, Mokuba,” Kaiba scolded, breaking eye contact with Kenzie. She felt her stomach flutter in triumph. 

 

“Besides, there aren’t any other reasons worth winning.”

 

A lead weight fell from her abdomen as Kenzie caught his eyes again, daring him to say anything to offend her.

 

“Not that the Default Duelist would be able to win my tournament.”

 

The molecules in the air had to have stopped moving for a split second before Kenzie registered the numb rage simmering below her skin, and she willfully thought of her aunt back home. It was the only reason why she could be responding to the whole situation so…’calmly’.

 

“Let me out of this limo,  _ now _ , or I’ll call Pegasus the next chance I get to tell him what a conceitedly pretentious ‘host’ you’ve been to me. I’m  _ sure _ he’d love to continue doing business with someone who’s snubbing his carefully selected Industrial Illusions intern.”

 

He immediately replied with a scathing look.

 

It was clear the CEO was discerning the underlying challenge and barrier Kenzie had erected. She truly did not want to upset the the relations between the two companies, but she needed to set some boundaries with Kaiba. If she didn’t, she’d end up causing a media nightmare at the rate he kept finding ways to get under her skin. Honestly! It had maybe been four hours since they met.

 

“Whatever,” Kaiba pronounced loudly, looking away as he smashed a button near his door with a finger. “I don’t have time for little girls and their petty drama.”

 

She chose to ignore his baited insult, getting the feeling she may have actually won the intense match. The limo came to an abrupt stop and she felt anticipation prick at the ends of her fingers and toes. If she thought the limo was smothering before, the intensely charged and impending silence of the car now swiftly changed her mind.

 

She gracefully placed her deck back into the protective box and into her duffel bag, zipping it automatically. Without a word, Kenzie seized her chance for escape immediately. She shouldered the duffel bag and made a beeline for the door opposite of Kaiba, even though that would put her exiting near traffic.

 

“Next time, why don’t you faint on someone who actually has time to put up with it,” Kenzie heard as she just made it out of the vehicle.

 

She spun around, daggers in her eyes, but she was met with a door slamming shut and the limo speeding away.

 

“Go to hell you insensitive jerk!” she yelled after the escaping vehicle, shaking a fist and stomping her foot.

 

Whatever. Kenzie wasn’t going to waste anymore of her time on the boorish CEO. She took one last look behind her, watching the disappearing limo and envisioning her aggravation going with it.

 

A cool wind is what finally drew Kenzie’s attention away from her thoughts, noticing the slight perspiration that had dampened the back of her clothes. She hadn’t realized how worked up she had gotten. Her forehead clenched as she took a deep breath to cleanse her body.

 

But a body collided into her.

 

“Dammit, watch where you’re going!” she snapped.

 

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

 

“No,  _ I’m _ sorry,” Kenzie quickly corrected, coming clean with the guilt she felt. “I’m having a bad day and I shouldn’t be…”

 

But Kenzie’s ornate apology was cut short when she recognized who she had ran into. The boy had wildly styled, star-shaped hair, consisting of a black base with red edges and blonde bangs. He was dusting off his blue school uniform, first wiping away at his pants and then shaking out his opened jacket without ruffling his untucked white button down.

 

“Wait… You’re Yugi Muto,” Kenzie pointed at him in awe.

 

He gave a confused look, bringing a thoughtful finger to his cheek. 

 

“Well, last time I checked,” he supplied innocently before giving a knowing smile.

 

In a flash Kenzie had grabbed up his hand and shook it with disciplined enthusiasm. 

 

"Wow, I can’t believe this. You beat Seto Kaiba, right? You’re officially my hero."

 

Yugi smiled shyly when the blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy next to him stepped up, pointing to himself in desperation. 

 

"An’ ya know who I am, right?"

 

Kenzie smiled softly, feeling an eagerness charge up her spine. She released Yugi’s hand and turned fully towards the newcomer. She could recognize the boy’s ‘next-door-neighbor’ look anywhere: simple white shirt and blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a medium green, long-sleeve jacket.

 

"Joey Wheeler, right? Placed...second at Duelist Kingdom? Loved your plays against Bandit Keith. I really don’t like that guy." 

 

Joey punched the air with his fist, clearly excited about being recognized. He proceeded to dance around, jabbing the air with his fingers. 

 

"YEA!! I’m famous, I’m famous, I’m famous..." 

 

Rousing Kenzie out of staring at Joey's eccentric behavior, Yugi addressed her again. 

 

"You're the American Duelist, right? Mackenzie Ray?"

 

But Kenzie hadn’t heard any of that, being caught up in her spoken thoughts.

 

“You’re smaller in person,” she said, inspecting Yugi by walking around him. “I could have sworn your profile said you were five foot five. You’d be at least a few inches taller than me.”

 

Yugi flushed, looking uneasy. “Uhhh…”

 

Joey began gesticulating wildly with his hands, effectively drawing Kenzie’s attention away from Yugi.

 

“Yer right, Yug’! She is dat American Duelist!” Joey’s odd New York accent pierced the air, suddenly appearing next to Yugi.

 

"I loved dat awesome play ya did against that defense dude in the semi-finals!" he exclaimed, encroaching on Kenzie’s personal bubble. "Ya know, the one where ya flip-summoned dat sphinx cawd an' cleaned his field of all dem set-defense monsters an' went straight in for the kill!"

 

Kenzie responded with an apprehensive smile and sheepish hand at the back of her head, taking a defensive step back. The deviant praise she was receiving from cohort duelists wasn’t helping her feel any less unsettled.

 

“Well, it had to be done,” she offered, hoping Joey would keep his distance.

 

“Wow,” Yugi interjected softly, but purposefully. “I think you’re the first modest duelist I’ve met.”

 

It happened too fast to see, but Joey had gotten Yugi into a one-armed headlock, menacingly pointing at him with his other. Kenzie was pretty sure he was playing around, but she couldn’t be sure...

 

“‘Eeeeeeey. You tryin’ ta say I ain’t modest, Yug’?”

 

“No! That’s not what I mean,” Yugi struggled against his friend, but his tone was not distressing. “You don’t really count because you got into Duel Monsters  _ with _ me.”

 

In a flash, Joey had released Yugi and he fell to the ground. Kenzie responded to the scene with confused blinking. The blonde defiantly placed his hands on his hips and looked outwards, like he was imagining himself in a scene of his own creation.

 

“Daaaaaaaaaaat’s what I thought,” Joey boasted with a good-natured grin. “Because we all know the Great Joey Wheeler, runner-up at Duelist Kingdom, deserves ta brag a li’l more. Ahahahahahahaha-”

 

“Go choke on a bone,  _ Wheeler _ .”

 

Kenzie’s spine went rigid. There was only one person who could spit someone’s name in disgust like that, but some part of her couldn’t believe he’d actually be right behind them.

 

“An’  _ you _ can stick it where the sun don’t shine, ya’ disrespectin’ egomaniac!”

 

Mechanically, slowly, Kenzie turned around for the inevitable truth. A lead weight dropped through her stomach.

 

“‘Egomaniac’, huh? Looks like someone’s been teaching the dog a few tricks.”

 

Kaiba’s eyes found Kenzie’s as soon as she was in range, igniting a fever-rage that surged through her body that went unnoticed only by Joey.

 

“Screw you, Kaiba!”

 

But Kaiba was unconcerned by Joey’s goading, physical stance next to him. Instead, he smirked at Kenzie, causing her forehead to crease in discontent when her heated insides reached critical mass.

 

“Is it too much to ask for you to stay out of my life for more than  _ ten _ minutes?!”

 

Kaiba closed his eyes and stuck his nose up in superior arrogance, almost seeming to be amused with the situation.  _ Amused _ . Was he getting some sort of sadistic pleasure out of this, or was he on some insane power trip?

 

“Don’t try to blame your selective memory on me,” he supplied with a dramatic pause, holding Kenzie’s forgotten suitcase out in front of him like it was expired milk discovered in the back of the fridge. “I only came back to give you  _ this _ because I won’t be held responsible for it.”

 

Kenzie answered him with a suspiciously exasperated look to his impatient stare. Why would he even bother to do something like this himself? He could have just sent that Roland guy, or someone lower in his company to return it.

 

She accepted the suitcase, taking the luggage from him with subdued conviction. Maybe, just maybe this was his small attempt at an apology for how he had been treating her?

 

“It wouldn’t kill you to be a bit nicer, ya know,” Kenzie mentioned, sending him a blandly distrustful look.

 

“Don’t think I did this because I was concerned about your luggage,” he corrected with the return of his amused smirk. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of your suitcase being in my limo to remind me I even let the Default Duelist in the same vehicle as me, let alone a fifty-mile radius.”

 

“ _ Stop _ calling me that!” Kenzie’s foot stamped in synchrony with her clenched fists, balancing the weight of her suitcase and duffel bag.

 

The theory that Kaiba was being nice was violently thrown out the window for Kenzie, but she was seventy-five percent sure that half of what came out of his mouth was to incite agitation in others for some weird power trip he liked having.

 

“Huh? How come your were in Kaiba’s limo?”

 

That had been Joey with bewilderment that exorcised the growing tension between the CEO and the American Duelist. Yugi’s face didn’t look any less confused.

 

“Oh, I get it; dat’s jus’ sick, Kaiba!”

 

Joey received several odd looks.

 

“What are you talking about, mutt?” Kaiba demanded in irritation.

 

The blonde’s face narrowed in discernment with a hint of disgust.

 

“Don’t tell me ya startin’ abductin’ girls off the street because yer too much of a jerk to get one yerself,” he paused to shake his head, clearly in some state of denial from the deduction he was making. “That’s really low, Kaiba. Even for you.”

 

Kenzie’s hand relaxed the hold of her suitcase, causing it to fall over when it hit the ground. She realized Joey thought Kaiba was a human trafficker. A brief look in the CEO’s direction told her that he was about to have a spontaneous aneurysm burst. Regardless, it mirrored the outrage she felt from the defamation of her own character.

 

“Just what are you trying to insinuate?!”

 

“I swear,” Kaiba spat in lidded fury. “If your brain were any smaller, I’d be insulting dogs by calling you one.”

 

“Dat’s it, Kaiba,” Joey growled, fists balled and poised threateningly. “You an’ me,  _ right now _ !”

 

He lunged into a run at Kaiba with his right fist cocked back. 

 

“No! Joey!” Yugi feebly attempted to stop his friend.

 

Kenzie and Yugi could only watch in painful anticipation, both having the sinking feeling that he had made a really bad decision. They watched as Joey got closer and closer, launching his fist towards Kaiba’s face. As he was a mere inches away from connecting the blow, Kaiba had someone managed to grab Joey’s wrist. He stepped to the side and wound Joey’s arm around, causing the blonde to ungracefully connect his back with the unrelenting cement ground. A cringe-worthy force of air left Joey’s lungs, followed by sputtering coughs.

 

Yugi rushed to his friend’s side and tried to help him up. “You okay, Joey?”

 

Kenzie had jerked in their direction, but the shock of the situation kept her from doing or saying anything immediately. Kaiba had just assaulted another person. Sure, Joey had initiated it, but he could have seriously hurt him!

 

“You didn’t have to do that!” Kenzie exclaimed, glaring indignantly.

 

“Of course I did,” Kaiba frowned in disapproval. “He needs to be taught a lesson in respecting authority. Hopefully the cement finally knocked some sense into him.”

 

“You were egging him on! That’s no lesson!” Kenzie snapped back, feeling heat breech her skin. She briefly jerked her head away in disgust, all restraint in her guarded thoughts now gone. “Really,  _ what _ is your problem? Do you just get off on getting a rise out of people? God, I can’t believe I ever actually admired you-”

 

Kenzie slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing the weight of what she had revealed in her frustration. Even though everyone was outside, it seemed abruptly hot and stuffy to her, almost suffocating.

 

Feeling the immediate urge to flee, Kenzie gripped her duffel bag with two hands like her life depended on it, keeping her eyes cast down as she sped past Joey and Yugi in an antsy walk. When she heard Yugi and Joey calling out to her she started jogging, feeling tears daring to spring at the edges of her eyes.

 

Kenzie knew how she was reacting was childish, but it was too overwhelming. It was beyond embarrassing that she let herself get so worked up that she had said something like that in public, let alone to the person it was about...who also apparently couldn’t even tolerate her existence. 

 

She just couldn’t bear to hear how Kaiba would ridicule her for something this personal.

 

>>>chapterEnd<<<

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! I'm hoping to get the next chapter out next month (towards end of Nov.) at the latest. These first four revamped ones were stuff I worked on during the unanticipated hiatus.
> 
> So, a lot happened this chapter! Can you feel the drama yet? :)

**Author's Note:**

> Past readers - What do you all think of this being a 3rd POV story now?  
> New readers - What are your reactions/guesses for how this will pan out?


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